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So there was no mold on the initial inspection and the contractors you hired to work up there for a day didn't say anything about costing extra to work in a hazardous condition like mold and you made the situation better with said contractor I wouldn't worry about it at this point. No good contractor would willingly put themselves in the way of danger when they can charge you extra to fix a problem.
If you don't see white or black blotches it's very unlikely you have attic mold. Go look at some photos online, it's pretty easy to recognize.
So if you were selling your place and your attic looked the same, is it something you would be concerned with? I feel like the issue has been fully contained, as the insulation issue was resolved a few years ago so now it airs out properly. It hasn't been a concern to me until now since I'm selling soon.
No, I wouldn't be concerned. If it doesn't look bad, leave it. The attic vents outside, so that means there's going to be some mold. If inspectors note it as a concern, you may have to clean it up.
I am currently in the process of buying a home. We just finished the home inspection last night and there was significant mold in the attic. Someone had stuffed the soffit vents with insulation, and they were venting the bathrooms into the attic instead of outside. Now, we are not going to walk away from the house, but we are going to pressure the sellers to remediate before we close. I don't know of a buyer that would be ok with an attic full of mold. Mold exists when an attic isn't properly ventilated, so why would you expect a buyer to be ok with something that was improperly done? It's one of those "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment" things. Unfortunately you're in the "treatment" stage and someone is going to pay for remediation. At this point you're going to have to disclose the mold to the buyer anyway so you might as well also show that it was taken care of. The longer it goes untreated, the worse it will get, and the more expensive it becomes to fix.
As for testing. We used Shane at Terripin Home Inspections. He is also a certified mold inspector and will test for us. You might be a little far out of his way but it's worth asking. The test is easy. He'll give you a suggestion on what to do based on the results. It might be that you don't have to do anything if it's all within limits. But you'll want those test results to show buyers. If Shane can't do it, search for a home inspector that is also a certified mold inspector. You should get a more impartial suggestion that way.
I am currently in the process of buying a home. We just finished the home inspection last night and there was significant mold in the attic. Someone had stuffed the soffit vents with insulation, and they were venting the bathrooms into the attic instead of outside. Now, we are not going to walk away from the house, but we are going to pressure the sellers to remediate before we close. I don't know of a buyer that would be ok with an attic full of mold. Mold exists when an attic isn't properly ventilated, so why would you expect a buyer to be ok with something that was improperly done? It's one of those "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment" things. Unfortunately you're in the "treatment" stage and someone is going to pay for remediation. At this point you're going to have to disclose the mold to the buyer anyway so you might as well also show that it was taken care of. The longer it goes untreated, the worse it will get, and the more expensive it becomes to fix.
As for testing. We used Shane at Terripin Home Inspections. He is also a certified mold inspector and will test for us. You might be a little far out of his way but it's worth asking. The test is easy. He'll give you a suggestion on what to do based on the results. It might be that you don't have to do anything if it's all within limits. But you'll want those test results to show buyers. If Shane can't do it, search for a home inspector that is also a certified mold inspector. You should get a more impartial suggestion that way.
Houses with a property vented attic have mold. It's humid in the summer. The relative humidity is high most of the year. There's going to be mold.
So there was no mold on the initial inspection and the contractors you hired to work up there for a day didn't say anything about costing extra to work in a hazardous condition like mold and you made the situation better with said contractor I wouldn't worry about it at this point. No good contractor would willingly put themselves in the way of danger when they can charge you extra to fix a problem.
If you don't see white or black blotches it's very unlikely you have attic mold. Go look at some photos online, it's pretty easy to recognize.
That is a great point about the contractors working in the attic all day without saying anything about it. They were aware of the improper insulation and re-did everything (removed old/damaged insulation) and re-insulated with blown-in cellulose and unstuffed the sides for proper ventilation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gmcnair88
I am currently in the process of buying a home. We just finished the home inspection last night and there was significant mold in the attic. Someone had stuffed the soffit vents with insulation, and they were venting the bathrooms into the attic instead of outside. Now, we are not going to walk away from the house, but we are going to pressure the sellers to remediate before we close. I don't know of a buyer that would be ok with an attic full of mold. Mold exists when an attic isn't properly ventilated, so why would you expect a buyer to be ok with something that was improperly done? It's one of those "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment" things. Unfortunately you're in the "treatment" stage and someone is going to pay for remediation. At this point you're going to have to disclose the mold to the buyer anyway so you might as well also show that it was taken care of. The longer it goes untreated, the worse it will get, and the more expensive it becomes to fix.
As for testing. We used Shane at Terripin Home Inspections. He is also a certified mold inspector and will test for us. You might be a little far out of his way but it's worth asking. The test is easy. He'll give you a suggestion on what to do based on the results. It might be that you don't have to do anything if it's all within limits. But you'll want those test results to show buyers. If Shane can't do it, search for a home inspector that is also a certified mold inspector. You should get a more impartial suggestion that way.
The root cause, being the improper ventilation, was resolved a couple years ago when I hired professional insulation contractors to pull everything out and re-do it properly. Visually, there are no black or white blotches, and attic is just generally dark and dusty as many attics tend to be. I understand that mold will exist, and I don't have a good understanding of what "within limits" really means around here. After all, some people are more or less sensitive to mold. But yes, I am looking for an impartial inspector.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerania
Houses with a property vented attic have mold. It's humid in the summer. The relative humidity is high most of the year. There's going to be mold.
Those were my initial thoughts, so I've been looking for sanity checks on this.
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